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A Weekend at the Races and More

At the weekend I travelled to Sandown in Surrey to watch the horse racing. It’s only just over an hour away from where I live in London and makes for a fun day out.

Sandown is a fairly relaxed affair, so there’s no obligation to dress too smart, but it is important to at least wear a smart/casual outfit.

There’s plenty of food and drink stalls, with champagne and glasses of prosecco proving to be very popular choices. The standing areas are very close to where all the action happens, so you get a clear view of the races. I’m not a huge gambler, but I made sure to bet on the horses and managed to win twice!

After a fun afternoon it was time for dinner. We headed to a local restaurant called Red Peppers. RP is a casual style restaurant, that does a variety of foods from Mexican to Italian, but as it’s the wealthy area of Esher, it still looks and feels a bit more upmarket than many places.

To start with we had a share platter of nachos with all the toppings. In the UK, it’s pretty hard to find good Mexican food, but these nachos were out of this world!

For mains I carried on the Mexican theme, by having a three bean chilli enchilada, again with all the toppings. My partner had a huge, tasty burger with rosemary fries. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and of course the food at Red Peppers, so it’s definitely somewhere I’d return too.

To end a fantastic day we headed to our hotel for the night, called Brooklands. It was only a fifteen minute drive away and impressed us as soon as we pulled up! A modern glass building with a BMW track for car racing next to it, it’s a gorgeous place to stay.

As we checked in, we was offered a free upgrade to a bigger room, which of course we took! The room was more like an apartment, as we had a huge bedroom, with a seperate living area and a roomy bathroom. With floor to ceiling windows, a luxurious rain shower and complimentary bathrobes, I can easily say Brookland’s is one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in.

After a comfortable sleep in the cushiony soft bed, it was time for breakfast. The restaurant was elegant and sleek and the breakfast buffet had it all. With plenty of options for meat eaters and vegetarians, I filled up two plates of food with pastries, breads and cheeses, amongst other things.

Full up, it was sadly time to check out and head home. But after such a wonderful weekend, how could I complain too much?